5 Reasons We’re Excited for NAYDO 2016

NAYDO, the North American YMCA Development Organization, will be hosting their annual conference this year on April 7-9. From exchanging ideas to celebrating successes, over 1,300 passionate individuals from the YMCA will congregate in Detroit for this year’s conference.

Using the revitalized city of Detroit as inspiration for change, evolution and growth, this year’s conference promises to be particularly intriguing. Here’s a list of five things we’re looking forward at this year’s NAYDO conference.

Out of this World Inspiration

Listening to Colonel Chris Hadfield regale us with stories of his time aboard the International Space Station, we will learn how his out-of-the-box (or out of this world) thinking has been instrumental in creating impact for the public, in addition to both professionally and personally.

Source: Wikipedia

The Y Family Under One Roof

Using this time to gather information around what strategies can help bolster the YMCA mission is essential to planning for the year ahead. As a data company that works with several YMCAs across the country, it’s important to understand how different approaches might works for some YMCAs, but not for others.

Experiencing Detroit

Detroit has several fun things to do including the open-air art community The Heidelberg Project, Motown Museum, the Eastern Market and more. If you aren’t planning on sticking around to see this growing city, you can at least set up meetings at the nearby Rowland Cafe in The Guardian building, an architectural gem of Detroit.

Source: Heidelberg Project

Dinners, Parties and More

While conferences can be demanding, one of the best parts is getting a chance to decompress and network over food or cocktails. In addition to hosting our own private dinner for a handful of YMCA staff at Coach Insignia, we look forward to attending networking receptions and the Friday night closing party.

Source: Coach Insignia

Learning Something New

One of the best parts about attending conferences is attending session where you have little to no knowledge on the subject matter. While data is our area of expertise, we are excited to expand our perspectives by joining some of the educational workshops that will empower us to improve our work and better our partnership with the YMCA.

Sima has several years of marketing experience and has helped both small and large companies create brand awareness and ultimately grow their business. Sima has worked at Razorfish, Warner Music Group and PR by the Book, and is also the founder of goodindiangirl.com.